Communication systems are endemic in modern society. Communication of data pursuant to many varied types of communication services is regularly needed. A communication system is used by which to effectuate the communication of data. Due to advancements in communication technologies, new types of communication systems are being developed.
A communication system includes at least a first communication station and a second communication station interconnected by way of a communication channel. Data is communicated by the first communication station, referred to as a sending station, to the second communication station, referred to as a receiving station, by way of the communication channel. Data that is to be communicated by the sending station is converted, if needed, into a form to permit the data to be communicated upon the communication channel. And, the receiving station detects the data communicated upon the communication channel and recovers the informational content thereof.
A radio communication system is a type of communication system. In a radio communication system, a radio channel, defined upon a radio air interface, forms the communication channel interconnecting the sending and receiving stations. Conventional wireline communication systems, in contrast, require the use of fixed, wireline connections extending between the communications stations upon which to define the communication channel.
A radio communication system provides various advantages in contrast to a wireline counterpart. Initial installation and deployment costs associated with a radio communication system are generally less than the costs required to install and deploy a corresponding wireline communication system. And, a radio communication system can be implemented as a mobile communication system in which one or more of the communication stations operable therein is permitted mobility.
A cellular communication system is an exemplary type of mobile radio communication system. Cellular communication systems have been installed throughout significant portions of the populated areas of the world and have achieved wide levels of usage. A cellular radio communication system is a multi-user communication system in which radio communications are provided with a plurality of mobile stations. Telephonic communication of voice and data is effectuable by way of the mobile stations. Mobile stations are sometimes of sizes to permit their convenient carriage by users of the mobile stations.
A cellular radio communication system includes network infrastructure that is installed throughout the geographical area that is encompassed by the communication system. Mobile stations operable in the cellular communication system communicate, by way of radio channels, with base stations that form parts of the network infrastructure of the communication system.
Base stations are fixed-site radio transceivers that are operable to communicate data with the mobile stations. The base stations are installed at spaced-apart locations throughout the geographical area covered by the communication system. Each of the base stations defines a cell, formed of a portion of the geographical area. A cellular communication system is so-called because of the cells that together define the coverage area of the communication system.
When a mobile station is positioned within a cell defined by a base station, communications are generally effectuable with the base station that defines the cell. Due to the inherit mobility of a mobile station, the mobile station might travel between cells defined by different ones of the base stations. Continued communication with the mobile station is provided through communication hand-off procedures between successive ones of the base stations defining the cells through which the mobile station passes. Through appropriate positioning of the base stations, the mobile station, wherever positioned within the area encompassed by the communication system, shall be within communication proximity of at least one base station.
Only relatively low-powered signals need to be generated to effectuate communications between a mobile station and a base station when the base stations are suitably positioned at selected spaced-apart locations. Hand-offs of communication between the successive base stations permit continued communication without necessitating increases in the power levels at which the communication signals are being transmitted. And, because the signals that are generated are all generally of low power levels, the same radio channels are able to be reused at different locations of the cellular communication system. The frequency spectrum allocated to a cellular communication system is thereby efficiently utilized.
A cellular communication system is constructed, generally, to be operable pursuant to an operating specification of a particular communication standard. Successive generations of communication standards have been developed, and operating specifications defining their operational parameters have been promulgated. First-generation and second-generation cellular communication systems have been deployed and have achieved significant levels of usage. Third-generation and successor-generation systems are undergoing development, standardization, and at least with respect to the third-generation systems, partial deployment.
An exemplary third-generation cellular communication system is a system that operates pursuant to the operating protocol set forth in a CDMA2000 operating specification. A CDMA2000 cellular communication system, constructed in conformity with the CDMA2000 operating specification, provides for packet-based data communication services.
Various parameters are identified in communication set-up procedures. For instance, data rates, data loss rates, and delay are each identified in a CDMA2000 cellular communication system. These parameters define, in part, the QoS (Quality Of Service) levels at which communications are effectuated.
Another new-generation cellular communication system, commonly referred to as UMTS (Universal Mobile Telephone Service), also defines QoS levels of service. A UMTS system defines QoS classes as traffic classes. Currently, four different traffic classes are defined; a conversational class, a streaming class, an interactive class, and a background class. Different delay sensitivities are associated with each of the different classes. A conversational class of service is the most delay-sensitive class of service, and the background class is the most delay-insensitive class of service. In general, data communications that must meet tighter delay requirements have higher priorities in scheduling than communications that are permitted to exhibit looser delay requirements.
Analogous traffic classes have, to date, not been utilized in CDMA2000 cellular communication system operating parameters. Lack of utilization of such parameters, or other analogous parameters, leave communications effectuated in a CDMA2000 communication system at risk of degradation, particularly, with respect to the perspective of radio network resource management.
Mere adoption of the UMTS-defined traffic parameters in a CDMA2000 cellular communication system, however, is inadequate. Quality of service procedures at a mobile station operable in a CDMA2000 communication system are triggered by an application layer, e.g., SIP/SDP (Session Initiation Protocol/Session Description Protocol) quality of service requirements. A mobile station utilizes quality of service parameters included in signaling messages to request the data rate, data loss rate, and delay parameters. From the perspective of the network part of the communication system, scheduling is performed based upon these three quality of service parameters and subscription classes.
Various problems result when traffic class information is not utilized in a CDMA2000 communication system on its radio air interface. First, the base station is unaware of the characteristics of the application that triggers the quality of service set-up procedure. And, some of the quality of service parameters might not be relevant for certain traffic classes. For example, delay and minimum data rate requirements are ignored if the traffic class is a background class. Consequently, the base station is unable to utilize this scheduling flexibility without the introduction of traffic classes. Additionally, if a so-called, pro-hop-behavior (PHB) based on a QoS signaling mechanism, e.g., ietfdiffServ is used between the mobile station and base station radio hop, the lack of traffic class as a quality of service parameter might cause a problem of quality of service mapping and signaling at the IP layer on the mobile station.
A manner is thereby required by which to utilize traffic class parameters in a CDMA2000 cellular communication system.
It is in light of this background information related to quality of service parameters used to define quality of service levels for communications effectuated in a cellular communication system that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.